*Get "The Star Packer" on Amazon here*
*Get Story of John Wayne: The Ultimate Collector's Guide on Amazon here*
*Get Stunt Man: The Autobiography of Yakima Canutt by Yakima Canutt with Oliver Drake on Amazon here*
*Get My Rodeo Years: Memoir of a Bronc Rider's Path to Hollywood Fame by Yakima Canutt with John Crawford on Amazon here*
The Duke is U.S. Marshal John Travers in this odd western written by director Robert N. Bradbury.
Travers (John Wayne) travels to a small town in order to investigate a crime wave instigated by "The Shadow," an easily identified villain. With his trusty sidekick Yak (Yakima Canutt), Travers also finds himself smitten with Anita (Verna Hillie), the niece of town elder/ranch baron Matlock (George 'Gabby' Hayes, before he became so ornery and Gabby-ish). Travers works his way into the job of sheriff after his predecessor serves the shortest term in U.S. law enforcement history, and eventually saves the day.
While the plot is standard B-movie fare, Bradbury commits two giant leaps of bad screenwriting in the film. In some of the opening scenes, for some unknown reason, Travers robs a stagecoach before the real villains get a chance at it. When the villains do come along and find out someone beat them to it, they end up shooting the driver and his shotgun-toting companion, killing one of them. This little plot point is not brought up for the rest of the film, making you wonder if Travers knew what he was doing when he held the thing up? Also, The Shadow's identity is pretty well-known to the viewer, but the cook at the Matlock ranch holds onto some pretty important information, letting Anita in on the secret in one scene. The problem is, why did the cook never speak up before, considering his role on the ranch?
The messy screenplay aside, "The Star Packer" serves as a showcase for Yakima Canutt's amazing stuntwork, although his portrayal of Native American Yak is a little embarrassing. This is a poverty row pic, but Canutt makes it watchable, as does Wayne's earnest performance.
Stats:
(1957) 53 min. (6/10)
-Written and Directed by Robert N. Bradbury
-Cast: John Wayne, Verna Hillie, Yakima Canutt, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Billy Franey, Eddie Parker, Earl Dwire, Thomas G. Lingham, Glenn Strange, Frank Ball, George Cleveland, Arthur Millett, Artie Ortego
(Not Rated)
Media Viewed: VHS
